Hi, guys! Welcome back to Serena and Fiona’s blog. For this week’s post, we decided to go to Bethesda for dinner and sample different food places. We tried to choose restaurants that aren’t as popular and people might not know about. The places we tried were Poke Dojo, Jaleo and Jeni’s. Here are our ratings!
1. Poke Dojo
Rating: 6.5
I (Fiona) hadn’t really heard about Poke Dojo before, and I was excited to try something new. We ordered the Aloha Bowl, which had white rice, imitation crab, shrimp, onions, seaweed, melon, edamame and mango. The bowl was $13.49, which we thought was a reasonable price. Overall, the bowl wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great. The texture was a little weird, and the flavors didn’t blend well. However, the ingredients were definitely fresh, and it was a solid meal. I probably wouldn’t recommend the restaurant to a friend, but it was fun to try a new place!
Aloha Bowl
2. Jaleo
Rating: 7.5
I had always seen Jaleo in Bethesda, but I had never tried it before this weekend! The restaurant definitely had a good vibe, and although the menu was a little confusing, it was a good start to the meal. We ordered three tapas: mini burger, chicken fritters and potatoes with tomato sauce. At first, when we ordered the mini burger, there were so many adjectives on the menu talking about the amazingness of this dish we got a little confused and didn’t realize that the burger was actually pig meat. Because of that, the burger ended up tasting a little weird to us, but I guess that’s not their fault (oops!). Next, we had the potatoes. They were so good! The sauce that came with them matched well, and they were so warm and yummy. Finally, the chicken fritters were also great! They were very creamy (not great if you’re lactose intolerant) and had a great texture. So, you may be wondering why this isn’t a 10/10. Although our meal was good, it ended up costing $48! I don't understand how three shirley temples and three tapas could end up costing that much! Although Jaleo has a great vibe (and is actually a huge restaurant, who knew?), I definitely think it's overpriced. Still, it may a good place to go over the holidays with your family.
Our Tapas
3. Jeni’s
Rating: 10/10!
Because Jeni’s has just opened in Bethesda, many of you readers probably haven’t had a chance to try the ice cream, but we definitely recommend it! The sweet aroma of the fresh waffle cones greets your nose as you come in isn’t even the best part of this adorable store! (see picture!) We ordered the dark chocolate and white chocolate peppermint bark flavors (yay holiday season!), and both were delicious! Overall, if you’re in the mood for an adorable ice cream place, Jeni’s is the way to go!
Thank you for reading! We hope our ratings are helpful the next time you're looking for a place to eat in Bethesda!
Sincerely,
Your favorite and most professional food critics (Fiona and Serena)